At times during last season it was as if it had become an epidemic. Such was the way of things in Scottish football that barely a top level game passed without at least one flare or smoke bomb being ignited.

Take the Edinburgh derby played in April, for instance, when several were thrown on to the pitch, disrupting the game itself more than once. Or the match between St Mirren and Celtic the week before that, when goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky was left shaken by a so-called “flash-bang” pyrotechnic.

At the end of last week Neil Doncaster praised SPFL clubs for the manner in which they had reacted to supporter misbehaviour – including the throwing of fireworks that peppered last season (and others before that). Indeed, the Scottish game has been unanimous in its condemnation of them, with managers, players, police and safety experts all imploring fans to clean up their act.

Some have even called for a complete prohibition on the sale of fireworks to the general public. That would, indeed, go a long way to

stopping the problem.

Such measures would be somewhat heavy-handed, though. Looking past the legitimate public safety concerns, it’s easy to understand the appeal of flares and smoke bombs inside football stadiums.

They bring colour to the spectacle, giving supporters another way

to express their fandom. So rather than banning them completely,

what if different measures were taken?

In Denmark, for instance, Brøndby IF have developed “safe flares” to be used inside stadiums. Current Danish league rules prohibit them from being used, but the planned timeframe will have them distributed from 2020.

“Pyrotechnics are a large part of our fans’ culture,” Brøndby IF supporters liaison officer, Johan Reiler says. “Some fans are against it because of the fines the club receives, some think it’s dangerous, but a lot think it is a part of an active atmosphere in the stadium.”

The use of flares is also permitted in Norwegian football stadiums. However, this is dependant on said flares being pre-approved devices.

What’s more, any pyrotechnic shows have to be signed off by various authorities and performed on

the understanding that the match won’t be disrupted. Flares can’t be ignited over the course of the 90 minutes. It’s a similar situation in Sweden, where fans apply to use pyrotechnics.

Perhaps the most comprehensive solution can be found in Major League Soccer, where Orlando City built designated areas for flares and smoke bombs to be used into their stadium.

“We, as a club, actually buy the smoke devices,” explains Alex Wolf, the senior vice-president of game-day operations at Orlando City.

“We then keep them in the proper containers, we make sure that they’re all in good shape, we look at the specs . . . that they’re not toxic, that they are non-carcinogenic, what the burn times are, exposure . . . we look at all those things so we don’t just have random people bringing in whatever they want.”

Orlando City train fans to handle the specially selected flares and smoke bombs, with compulsory

exercises held for supporters every year.

Without that training, fans are

not permitted to operate the pyrotechnics in the designated areas called “Capo” stands located well away from the general crowd, in structures resembling a work platform in front of the “Safe Standing” terrace.

Fans in certain sections of the ground are also informed of their proximity to the smoke. “It’s almost like when you go to SeaWorld and they have a splash zone and they’re like ‘hey, these first few rows will get splashed with water’,” says Wolf. “It just lets people know and if they don’t want to be a part of that, we will re-locate you.”

By opening a dialogue with fans, these clubs were able to reach a compromise over the use of flares that suits all.

The spectacle and colour remains, while the safety risk has been eliminated.

Some within football see flares as a vestige of Ultras culture. That would explain why, no matter the argument, there is a group beyond the point of persuasion regarding their use in stadiums.

After all, for all that they have been romanticised in recent times, Ultras were by and large a blight on the sport for many years. Modern fans see flares and smoke bombs in a different way, though. They are not a manifestation of hooliganism, but an expression of support alongside Tifos and chants.

At Orlando City, their stadium was designed around the specifications of fans, but that’s not to say it couldn’t work at some of Scottish football’s more traditional grounds.

“You could do it in an existing stadium,” says Wolf. “If you’re in a traditional European stadium, having ‘Capo’ stands is, in my opinion, the best way to go because they’re a bit elevated. They’re part of the section, but also separate.

“You also have a higher level of success in managing who gets in and out of those sections. You could do it on the ground level, though. I think any stadium could very cost effectively retrofit what they need.”

The easiest solution to Scottish football’s pyrotechnics epidemic would be a draconian one. Fines, bans, arrests . . . that sort of thing. But flares needn’t be a source of public menace.

Other countries, clubs and leagues have set a different precedent for Scotland to follow. If there is a compromise to be struck, one that keeps everyone happy, why wouldn’t steps be taken to find it?